Finding Library Materials through Online Catalogs
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1. Introduction
Library catalogs are useful tools for finding books and other publications. They can help you determine which libraries hold particular publications in their collections and where those items are located within those collections. They can also be used to help you identify books that pertain to a particular topic of interest.
2. USC Catalogs
USC has three different catalogs for finding books:
ADVOCAT (USC Law Library):
- Searches the holdings at the USC Law Library only.
HOMER (USC Libraries):
- Searches the holdings at all of the USC libraries EXCEPT the law, medical, and dental libraries.
HELIX (Health Sciences):
- Searches the holdings at the USC medical and dental libraries only.
All of these catalogs can be accessed from any of the computers in the library as well as any other computer connected to the internet. The USC Law Library's Search Library Catalogs page provides access to all three of these catalogs. (ADVOCAT can also be searched from the "Quick Search" box located on the main Law Library web page.) The "Search All USC Library Catalogs" option allows you to simultaneously search all three USC catalogs; however, you will have more searching options and may get better results if you search the catalogs separately.
All three USC catalogs provide guidance on how to set up effective searches. It is advisable to spend a few minutes browsing through the search tips or "help" screens before conducting your searches. The section below includes some additional searching guidelines for the USC Law Library catalog, ADVOCAT.
3. Using ADVOCAT, the Law Library's Catalog
ADVOCAT provides detailed information about the Law Library's collection, including bibliographic and locational information, call numbers, and information on the most recent periodical issues received by the library.
On ADVOCAT, you can do a keyword, title, author, or subject search.
Keyword Searching
If you are searching by topic, it is generally advisable to begin searching by doing a keyword search, which searches the full catalog records as opposed to just one particular field in the record. Searching by keyword is also the only searching method that allows you to have your results ranked by date or by relevancy (instead of alphabetically).
You can search in one or more of the following ways using the ADVOCAT keyword search box:
- Phrase Search:
Place quotation marks around the phrase you would like to search for.
Example:- "freedom of speech"
- AND connector
Place and between two words or phrases to search for a record that contains both of them (in either order). And is the default connector if you do not include a connector between or quotation marks around your words.
Examples:- "freedom of speech" and schools
- free speech (This search is equivalent to: free and speech.)
- OR connector
Use or between two words or phrases to search for a record that contains at least one of them.
Example:- "freedom of speech" or "freedom of religion"
- Parentheses
Use parentheses to specify the desired relationship(s) when using multiple connectors.
Examples:- (speech or religion) and schools
This search will only retrieve records that contain the word schools as well as one or both of the words in parentheses. - "establishment clause" or (religion and schools)
This search will retrieve all records that contain just the phrase "establishment clause" as well as all records that contain both the words religion and schools.
- (speech or religion) and schools
- Truncation
Search terms may be truncated to pull up words with variant endings:- use one asterisk (*) to allow for up to 5 additional characters
- use two asterisks (**) to search for an unlimited number of additional characters
Examples:- social* will retrieve social, socially, as well as socialist
- social** will retrieve socialization as well as the above term
- Field Restrictions
Field restrictions can be used to specify that certain keywords must be in certain fields (e.g., title field (t), author field (a), or subject field (s)).
Examples:- a:miller and t:"real estate"
This search will retrieve records in which both miller appears somewhere in the author field and "real estate" appears somewhere in the title. - s:speech and s:religion
This search will retrieve records in which both the words speech and religion appear somewhere in the subject heading(s).
- a:miller and t:"real estate"
- Additional Search Parameters
On the keyword search page, there are additional boxes that you can use to limit your keyword searches by language, material type (e.g., films, videos), publisher name, and/or publication year(s).
Searching by Title, Author, or Subject
- Type the exact publication title, author name, or subject heading you are interested in (or as much of it as you know). If there is more than one title, name, or heading that begins with the characters you entered, you will be able to browse an alphabetical list of titles, names, or headings that begin with your entry.
Examples:- Freedom in the Time of War
- Freedom in
- United States Congress House Committee on Commerce
- Constitutional Law United States
- When searching a name of an individual as an author or subject, enter the individual's last name first, followed by his or her first name or initial if you know it.
Examples:- Miller, Harry
- Miller, H
- Miller
- Subject Searches: These searches are limited to the subject field, which contains the assigned subject headings for each cataloged item. Because these headings are not always intuitive, it is usually best to begin with a keyword search (described above). Once you find one or more relevant records, browse the assigned subject headings in the records and see if any closely match your subject interest. You can then run a subject search by merely clicking on one of these headings. In some instances, if you enter a heading for a particular subject that does not match an assigned heading for that topic, ADVOCAT will refer you to the assigned heading. Also, ADVOCAT will sometimes refer you to additional assigned subject headings that are related to the heading you entered.
Examples:- If you enter Constitutional rights, ADVOCAT tells you that the proper subject heading for this topic is Civil rights.
- If you enter the assigned heading Freedom of expression, ADVOCAT will both direct you to the records assigned this heading as well as refer you to some related headings, including Freedom of speech and Freedom of religion (which will lead you to additional books on these topics).
- Limiting Search Results: After you do an initial title, author, or subject search, you can limit your search further by language, material type, keyword(s) in the author, title, subject, or publisher field, and/or year of publication. Merely select the "Limit This Search" option located at the top of the search results screen and then enter your limitations.
Locating Items Found on ADVOCAT
- Once you find titles on ADVOCAT that look promising, note the LOCATION for those items as well as the CALL NO. For a guide to the locational designations, consult the USC Law Library's Guide to the USC Law Library Collection.
4. Using Additional Catalogs
The "Search Library Catalogs" page discussed earlier also includes a Search Other Libraries via WWW option, which provides links to catalogs for a number of non-USC libraries, some of which are located in relatively close proximity to the USC campus and some of which are recognized for their outstanding collections.
There is also a catalog accessible to all USC users called WorldCat which allows you to simultaneously search the holdings of thousands of libraries throughout the world. The main USC Law Library web page contains a link to WorldCat (under "Law Library Quicklinks").
When you access WorldCat, you can conduct a Basic Search or an Advanced Search. For guidance on how to search on WorldCat, consult the Help screens by clicking on the "Help" button near the top of the search screen.
After you enter a search on WorldCat, you will retrieve a list of items that satisfy your search parameters. For any item retrieved on WorldCat, you can click on the "Libraries Worldwide" link to see which libraries own that item. The initial list will be limited to libraries in California. You can then choose the "Display All Libraries" option for a complete list of libraries that own it, organized by state.
While WorldCat itself will not provide detailed holdings or circulation information for each library, you can link from the list of libraries to a particular library's own catalog to find out such things as whether the library holds a complete run of a particular journal as well as whether the item you need is checked out of the library at the present time.